First Open Fighter Base Test Sunday July 10, 1-5pm EST

The first public test of Fighter Base is going to take place 1pm-5pm EST / 10am-2pm PST on Sunday, 7/10/2016. Download instructions will be available by 9am/Noon tomorrow.

A letter from the creator of Fighter Base:

Hi! My name is Mark Vange and I am the creator of many games including Air Attack, Fighter Ace and most recently, Fighter Base – all massively multiplayer online flight combat games.

When circumstances forced me to shut down Fighter Ace in 2010 after 15 years of operation I wrote a letter to players stating that the era of computer flight simulation was drawing to a close. In a way I was right but, as is usually the case with technology, I was also wrong. The transition to mobile devices, Facebook and free-to-play games was certainly a big change in the games industry but the pendulum is, at long last, swinging back.

After twenty years of false starts, it looks like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are finally making true strides with the introduction of devices like the Oculus and Google Cardboard-inspired mobile VR headsets. These mobie VR headsets, for those who have not seen them, are simply holders for the now ubiquitous smartphone that use the technology you have already paid for and for under $100 give you a whole new experience of immersive, head tracking, 3D! Of course, Google and Oculus are not the only players in the VR space – the market is growing and expanding almost daily and it is my hope that this growth and expansion will bring thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of new players from among the over billion mobile users worldwide.

You represent, in a way, the history and pedigree of Fighter Base and it is because of you and my long-standing relationships in the industry that manufacturers both big and small are happily agreeing to support us in our growth plans. From sending us hardware to promising to have us in their trade show booths and in their marketing materials, I am confident that we will have the exposure we need to let new users find out about the excitement, the challenge, the romance and the camaraderie of this amazing world of WW2 aviation experience. In fact, we will be at trade shows with manufacturers as early as this coming September showing off our upcoming product and we are in discussions with several parties to commission special versions of the game for their particular needs.

But in order to make all this happen I need your help. Many of you reached out to me during our years in the desert. Asking me to stand up the old game – which I was not able to do – asking me to let someone ese do it – which I was also unable to do. Then, three months ago I announced my intention to embark on the development of a brand new game if you would help, and as a community you said you would and I listened.

A very talented young programmer named Alexandr Okov and I have spent the past three months working on a prototype of the new game. I wanted to do this before taking anyone else’s money so that I was fully confident we could make the game, so that I knew HOW we were going to do it and so that I could chase down just the right talent to take development to the next level. With Alexandr’s heroic efforts we have succeeded far beyond my expectations – we have a fully playable game with several aircraft, that supports PC and mobile, supports VR, that plays great online and has some of the best features we all expect – like a proper padlock view – already implemented.

Of course it is far from finished and we now need to turn this blueprint, this sketch, this model, into a fully-fledged game. To do this, I have managed to convince some of the original Fighter Ace developers to once again join me and they will be joining the team throughout August so that come September 1 we can be firing on all cylinders and building the next great flight game. I have done everything I can, financially, technologically and professionally to get us to this point. Now it’s your turn.

Please join me in creating Fighter Base

First, by buying a membership. I know this is a leap of faith on your part, but your membership – to an unfinished game – will help me fund ongoing development and also convince others that there is an audience for flight games and they should help also. The more of you there are the easier it is for me to convince manufacturers, publishers and marketers to support us.

Second, by supporting our Social Funding campaign. You have probably all heard of social funding. Many of you may have never tried it. Never-the-less, I hope that this is the project that gets you to try it. In Social funding, you the audience contribute to the project you care about and help them flourish. To encourage you, projects offer premiums that vary depending on your level of support. I have tried to put together an interesting array of premiums and incentives for you. Please pick the level of support that you can afford and become a part of the development of the game.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, by talking about Fighter Base – post about it, talk about it, mention it to friends and neighbors. Hand out flyers at your local airshow. See if your local air museum will feature us, or work with us in some way to get the word out. In the age of Facebook and other social media, let’s get the word out! And let’s make it a good word. The game, especially in its current form, will have many shortcomings. I welcome your ideas and suggestions; I welcome your criticisms and doubts, but let’s keep them friendly and professional. Let’s keep them welcoming of new players so that we can grow our community.

More information about our Social Funding efforts will be coming soon. Memberships are available on the site NOW!